— — — — — —
"Dumbledore, Kamiya, I need an explanation."
The one losing his composure the most right now was Fontaine. His eyes were bloodshot as he whipped his head around, glaring at Dumbledore and at Akihiko Kamiya, who looked completely baffled.
"Have your two schools no shame at all? Teaming up to gang up on our champion?"
"Typical British behavior. A few hundred years of tradition, and now even the students have it down, huh?"
Fontaine spat the words through gritted teeth. He'd almost called them outright rabble-rousers just now, but that kind of insult would've dragged everyone down with it, so he toned it down a notch. Still, in his mind, wasn't that exactly what Britain was?
Madame Maxime was shaken as well. That had been close, far too close. If things had gone just a little differently, the one being targeted would have been Fleur.
Her gaze drifted to the student stands, quickly finding Tom Riddle. Her expression grew complicated.
The Riddle household… it was a mess. She had no idea how Tom usually managed to keep the peace between all those girls.
Honestly, it might've been simpler if he followed the usual aristocratic model: one wife at home, a string of lovers elsewhere. At least then they wouldn't cross paths. That alone would cut down on so much trouble. But no, he had to keep them all under the same roof, insisting he wasn't playing favorites. As if that were even possible.
What Maxime didn't know was that Tom himself felt like he was about to crack.
Daph, if you've got an issue, why not message the little fox privately? This is a public channel for everyone!
Ever heard of harmony? Keep family disputes out of the spotlight, would you?
Tom spread his hands helplessly, then leaned back and gave up entirely.
Whatever. Worst case, he'd just take his sweet, well-behaved sister-in-law and disappear somewhere quiet for a while.
...
Up at the judges' table, before Dumbledore could say anything, Grindelwald cut in with a cold snort. The temperature around them seemed to drop instantly, and several headmasters tensed.
"An explanation? What explanation do you think you deserve? And who gave you the right to demand one?"
Grindelwald's eyes were filled with disdain as he looked at Fontaine.
"Since when does an alliance between champions break any rules? Your own Thunderbird House preaches cooperation, courage, and honor. Or would you prefer every champion to be a lone idiot like you?"
"In this world, you survive with power and connections. What, life not treating you well? Keep talking nonsense and I might just send my Acolytes over to your school for a little 'academic exchange.'"
He was genuinely fed up with Fontaine. The man had no sense of his place. Compare him to Sanchez—at least that one knew how to speak with some courtesy. And this one? Charging in, demanding explanations?
No explanation. Plenty of Avada Kedavra, though. Interested?
If not for Tom's suspicion that Fontaine might be connected to the Sun-Chasers—and his request to leave him alone for now—Grindelwald would've already sent Grimmson and the others to drag him off for a proper funeral.
Fontaine stared at him in horror.
"Grindelwald! What are you trying to do? Don't forget you and Dumbledore are bound by a blood pact! Dumbledore, are you just going to stand there? He's threatening me—right in front of you!"
"Agilbert," Dumbledore said calmly, "Grindelwald is simply in a poor mood. I won't let him act recklessly."
"…However, there's one point I agree with. A champion needs more than courage and powerful magic. Intelligence and the ability to read the situation matter just as much. Miss Greengrass and Miss Kamio made their own choices. That has nothing to do with their schools, and of course, it doesn't break any rules. I have no authority to interfere."
A little further away, Akihiko Kamiya, whose face had been stiff with embarrassment, quietly let out a breath of relief. He felt a surge of gratitude toward Dumbledore for taking the brunt of Fontaine's accusations.
He had no choice. Dumbledore and Grindelwald had the strength and confidence to talk back. He didn't. If he actually tried that, it would practically be asking for trouble.
Dumbledore continued soothing Fontaine, casting Grindelwald a look, but Grindelwald didn't even bother to respond, nor did he show any intention of pressing the issue further.
Talking to someone like that? He'd rather just watch the match.
Now, how many artifacts had Ariana picked up earlier? Damn it. That idiot had completely thrown off his count.
...
Fontaine, meanwhile, felt like his face had been ground into the dirt by Grindelwald. But leaving now would only make him look guilty, so he forced himself to ignore the strange looks from others and stared fixedly at the screen, as if it held some priceless treasure.
Unfortunately, what it showed wasn't treasure at all, but a rather tragic scene.
Guided by a tracking spell, Daphne and Kamio quickly found Jauncey.
At that moment, Jauncey was tangled up fighting a school of swordfish. Under Tom's magic, every single one of them swam faster than usual, and their pointed snouts had become even harder and sharper.
After a long, exhausting struggle, he had finally managed to snatch the treasure from the middle of the school… only to attract the relentless pursuit of every swordfish in the area.
But Jauncey wasn't panicking. He'd already figured out the pattern of these trials. As long as he held on a bit longer and made it out of this zone, he'd be safe.
To be fair, his luck today had been incredible. Out of fifty treasures, he'd already secured twelve on his own. If he could just hold out safely for the full two hours, first place this round would basically be his.
"Once I get out of here, I'll find a safe spot and hide."
The flag had barely been planted for three seconds before two young witches showed up.
Six eyes met… and only one side looked completely bewildered.
Kamio had been about to throw out a taunt or mess with him a bit, but Daphne had spent so long by Tom's side that the two of them had started to think alike.
When it came to opponents with no value, talking was pointless. A waste of time.
So Daphne attacked immediately.
Jauncey's reaction wasn't bad. Even before his brain fully caught up, he instinctively cast a Shield Charm. The scalding currents slammed into it, rippling across the surface.
"What are you trying to do?!" he shouted after blocking the spell, a stream of bubbles spilling from his mouth.
"What's he even babbling about?" Daphne flicked her wand impatiently, then traced out a line of glowing words. "Kamio, don't waste time. Let's finish this."
Kamio sighed. With Daphne already making the call, she had no choice but to follow.
Under the two of them working together, Jauncey couldn't keep up his Shield Charm at all. Before long, he was battered and disoriented, completely overwhelmed.
"Stop, stop! I'll give you my treasures!"
Jauncey gave in quickly, pulling out two envelopes with visible pain on his face. He handed one to each of them, then turned and bolted.
He thought that was the end of his misery.
But what broke him was that not long after he ran, the two of them chased him down again.
What was this supposed to be?
Wasn't robbing him once enough? Did they really plan to drain him dry?
.
.
.